ALFA HERITAGE

Q: Which model would you reckon qualifies as the last ‘proper’ Alfa Romeo?

A: That’s almost an impossible question to answer. The last car to be developed by an independent ( ie pre-Fiat takeover) Alfa Romeo was the Alfa 75, launched in 1985, the year before Fiat took control. The 155 which replaced it was based on a Fiat platform and used Fiat units based on the modular ‘FIRE’ engines instead of the classic Alfa twin-cam. The last car to be powered by the Alfa Romeo four-cylinder engine was the 164 which lasted until 1998. The Alfa ‘Busso’ V6 engine would live on until the end of 156 production though, in 2007.